D&D General What the Melf's Guide to Greyhawk Cover Might Look Like

Below is a quick mockup of the potential cover of Melf's Guide to Greyhawk based on the Jeff Easley art revealed at Gary Con, using the current D&D 5.5E trade dress. The fonts aren't quite right, but it gives an approximate look at what the book may look like when it is released.

 

[Infernal Teddy]

Honestly if that is the only cover option, it would give me a reason not to purchase.

Same

 

[Jahydin]

I wouldn't get too excited before we get a lot more details. This is still WotC producing it for 5.5E. They aren't going to suddenly throw the car in reverse when they've been flying down the highway in one direction at 70 mph.

Agree, but staying optimistic. After completely restructuring the design team, now is as good of a time as ever to mend the grog bridge they lit on fire. Apologizing to the Gygax family for mistreatment is a good first step.

The next logical good step is to give us our own little spot in the park to play along with the material that appeals to the 5.5e fans. No need to throw the car in reverse, just have another lane for us who got off the bus. It doesn't even have to be new rules; just give us the same ones repackaged in a book with a classic atheistic.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It doesn't even have to be new rules; just give us the same ones repackaged in a book with a classic atheistic.

I cannot see how commissioning a bunch of new art, laying out the books all over again (and do they include errata or not?) and then printing them could make financial sense for WotC, given the margins they want to hit.

This is an extremely niche product with a limited print run that you're asking for a lot of resources to be created for. Would you pay $75 or more for each of the 2024 core books, if they looked more like AD&D books? I can't imagine there's really that much of an audience out there for something like that, especially in this economy.

 

[jdrakeh]

I'm excited about Greyhawk. I am not excited about that cover (the font is fine, the art seems mid).

 

[mamba]

It doesn't even have to be new rules; just give us the same ones repackaged in a book with a classic atheistic.

so you are ok with the 5.5 rules but object to the art? I doubt you will get a different book, rules or art

 

[Scribe]

Would you pay $75 or more for each of the 2024 core books, if they looked more like AD&D books?

In a style and tone to my liking?

Yeah lol

 

[Jahydin]

@Whizbang Dustyboots @mamba
Understand it sounds far fetched, but I think the reality is if they want to grab those like me that have left, they have to make it separate from the 5.5e rule books or the entire effort fails. There are so many rumors circulating of a new edition already, the hope is they do it there. But even if they don't, a simple Greyhawk starter set with enough material to bring it to 0D&D level would work.

Because if they don't, who would buy it? Current fans aren't exactly excited about this. I was floored just from the amount of negative feedback here on the artwork (heresy btw !). Fans like myself that skipped buying the new edition and have moved on to other games certainly aren't going to "all in" just because a new source book came out. There has got to be an inviting "on ramp" of some sort, so to speak.

This is an extremely niche product with a limited print run that you're asking for a lot of resources to be created for.

Running an entire ad on Polygon (that's usually what these articles are) makes me think this isn't just an extremely niche product with a limited run. Where did you read that? Everything I've read looks like this is going to be a huge part of the company moving forward. New design team, two soured partnerships being mended, and new products rolling out that no longer look "5.5ish". If true, that would certainly make me a lot less excited.

Would you pay $75 or more for each of the 2024 core books, if they looked more like AD&D books? I can't imagine there's really that much of an audience out there for something like that, especially in this economy.

If they pledged to stay committed to supporting Greyhawk and Dragonlance with the original creators, yeah, I would. That would be a gigantic ask on my part and huge risk on theirs, so for sure I would back them.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Understand it sounds far fetched, but I think the reality is if they want to grab those like me that have left

THEY DON'T.

My dude, Boomer and Gen X players are a fraction of the players they picked up in the 5E era. They are absolutely not going to trot out a bunch of super-expensive books that might get a few old fogies to buy their books again. It would be a wildly irresponsible move, and they save that for not making starter sets connected to Honor Among Thieves.

Because if they don't, who would buy it?

All the people who buy all the regular 5E books. The Easley cover is going to be the alternate cover and the main book is going to get a standard 5E cover.

Running an entire ad on Polygon (that's usually what these articles are

Dude, no. Polygon's not great, but they label when they have paid content, as does Rascal.

Everything I've read looks like this is going to be a huge part of the company moving forward.

Everything you've read has been a bunch of people whipping themselves into a frenzy over their collective imaginings. Just wait until WotC actually says more than three sentences about this.

If they pledged to stay committed to supporting Greyhawk and Dragonlance with the original creators, yeah, I would. That would be a gigantic ask on my part and huge risk on theirs, so for sure I would back them.

If they bought be a jet and gave me a pet unicorn, I'd be super-excited about that, but it's not going to happen. That's not how corporations work, especially since they already have most of the customers that D&D has ever had.

The fact that some older fans have their feelings hurt that WotC is focused on customers their grandkids' age doesn't somehow mean there's a giant untapped market where WotC is thinking "gosh, if we don't get a bunch of retirees buying our books, we might as well go out of business."

 

[Scribe]

The fact that some older fans have their feelings hurt that WotC is focused on customers their grandkids' age doesn't somehow mean there's a giant untapped market where WotC is thinking "gosh, if we don't get a bunch of retirees buying our books, we might as well go out of business."

I dont think anyone thinks Wizards will go under without the grey haired among us. I DO however think that Wizards has some marketing feedback that didnt land particularly well internally, and maybe they want to have some outreach to the grey haired, like this book, to try and fix that.

I dont think anyone who pays attention to Wizards at all actually has any doubts as to what actually does the heavy lifting, and it isnt an RPG.

 

[Clint_L]

THEY DON'T.

My dude, Boomer and Gen X players are a fraction of the players they picked up in the 5E era. They are absolutely not going to trot out a bunch of super-expensive books that might get a few old fogies to buy their books again. It would be a wildly irresponsible move, and they save that for not making starter sets connected to Honor Among Thieves.

All the people who buy all the regular 5E books. The Easley cover is going to be the alternate cover and the main book is going to get a standard 5E cover.

Dude, no. Polygon's not great, but they label when they have paid content, as does Rascal.

Everything you've read has been a bunch of people whipping themselves into a frenzy over their collective imaginings. Just wait until WotC actually says more than three sentences about this.

If they bought be a jet and gave me a pet unicorn, I'd be super-excited about that, but it's not going to happen. That's not how corporations work, especially since they already have most of the customers that D&D has ever had.

The fact that some older fans have their feelings hurt that WotC is focused on customers their grandkids' age doesn't somehow mean there's a giant untapped market where WotC is thinking "gosh, if we don't get a bunch of retirees buying our books, we might as well go out of business."

Yup. Pretty much every chart I’ve seen on D&D demographics shows players my age (late 50s) and older to be a tiny percentage of the player base. We’re just hugely overrepresented in this forum…because it’s a forum. And in our own minds, of course.